Event
Brisbane Writers Festival champions curiosity and creativity in Queensland. BWF connects and grows Queensland’s reading and writing communities through transformative cultural experiences that elevate the vitality of the literary arts and contribute to dynamic public conversation.
The Emerging Writers’ Festival (EWF) is one of Australia’s most established and well-respected literary festivals. EWF develops, nurtures and promotes Australia’s new writing talent, creating platforms for connecting writing communities and their audiences. Through the flagship festival in Melbourne and an annual program of events, it provides opportunities for emerging writers to develop professionally, and supports them to engage new and larger audiences.
Features invited international, national and local poets plus ample opportunities for public participation in a diverse program of free and low cost events. Professional development is also supported through workshops, seminars, panels and networking opportunities.
Queensland Poetry (QP) supports poets and spoken-word artists in Queensland, Australia through its flagship annual festival, year-round events and workshops, Arts Queensland Poet-in-Residence Program, Arts Queensland Poetry Awards, prizes and challenges, and in-school programs.
Write around the Murray (WAM) is held annually in Albury and is the region’s only exclusively literary based festival.
Open-access arts festival, featuring performers and groups from all artistic mediums. The second-largest fringe festival in the world. Arranges medium-specific programs like 2007’s Word program, which featured writers reading from and talking about their work. Open to programming requests from individuals who want to perform or read at the festival.
The Australian Society of Authors runs a national program of events every year for emerging and professional authors covering topics such as marketing and publicity, self-promotion, social media, ebooks and digital publishing, self-publishing, pitching your work, getting published, copyright, contracts and more.
The Auckland Writers and Readers Festival is a festival of ideas celebrating books and reading, with events, panels and workshops involving many distinguished local, Asia-Pacific and international writers. Affiliated with the Sydney Writers Festival.
Orange and its surrounding region celebrate the Banjo Paterson Australian Poetry Festival in February every year. The festival celebrates rural Australian poets and bush poetry.
Passionate about Indigenous culture, stories and books? Or curious? This is your festival. Blak & Bright is presented by First Nations Australia Writers’ Network, with Australian Poetry, the City of Literature Office, the Emerging Writers’ Festival, Express Media, the Melbourne Writers Festival, the Small Press Network, the Wheeler Centre and Writers Victoria. Indigenous writing is relevant and exciting to literature lovers and readers everywhere.
The weekend celebrates the life of CJ Dennis through a small, but unique literary festival. The main focus of the Festival is the award presentation for the CJ Dennis Literary Awards and the Max Fatchen Literary Awards for Children’s Poetry Writing. The CJ Dennis Literary Awards Competition runs from January-July each year. Awards are for poetry and short stories. Check with organisers to confirm dates.
The Emerging Writers’ Festival Roadshow comes to the NSW Writers’ Centre every second year, bringing a lively mix of panels, discussions, useful information and performances. The day concludes with networking drinks.
Fresh Ink is ATYP’s development program for emerging playwrights. Across the year, through a range of masterclasses, workshops, one-to-one mentoring opportunites and our annual National Studio, we work with young writers to develop their work and appreciation of the craft of writing for the stage.
First held in 1958, the Festival fosters the arts in Grenfell and Australia-wide. Winners in the Grenfell Henry Lawson Literary Competition are announced at the festival.
Writing for children or young adults? The NSW Writers’ Centre Kids and Young Adult Literature Festival is all about stories for young people, from picture books to young adult fiction, scriptwriting to theatre, fantasy to horror. Speakers include writers, illustratiors and publishers and agents who talk about the kind of work they are looking for.
The KSP Open Day gives you the chance to introduce yourselves and friends to the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers’ Centre, pick up information flyers on upcoming events and programs, mingle with WA writers, listen to readings, chat with the Management Committee about your ideas for the Centre, and join a conducted National Heritage Tour of the house and gardens.
PlayWriting Australia is the national peak body for playwriting with a mission to support the development and promotion of great new Australian writing for performance. We work to discover creative artists, improve and enhance playwrights’ skills and boost national networks in order to see more Australian work on stage and in print.
New Voices Festival in July showcases first time published writers and poets in conversation with well established writers. The sessions focus on the art and craft of writing and getting published. The forums aim to provide public speaking experience for the writers and inspiration for aspiring wordsmiths.
Part of the New Zealand International Arts Festival. Aims to present a selection of top writers from New Zealand and around the world. Closely resembles literary events such as the Melbourne Writers’ Festival, and focuses on fiction, poetry and serious non-fiction (history, biography etc). Approximately 16 international writers and many New Zealand writers participate in six days of stimulating and thought-provoking panels, readings, and lectures, along with book launches and other functions. Participants are selected by a committee made up of writers an…
Next Wave Festival is dedicated to nurturing our culture and contemporary ideas into the twenty-first century, supporting the work of a new generation of Australian artists and encouraging young people to engage with the Arts. Events presented across performance, visual arts, text and sound.
A biennial festival held in odd years and previously known as the Ipswich Festival of Children’s Literature. The mid-week programme is designed for students and families and is free, attracting around 6000 students. The weekend conference programme is aimed at adults with a low entry fee. It is a small conference held at Woodlands of Marburg, 45 mins from Brisbane, Qld and has some onsite accommodation. The festival includes authors and illustrators from all over Australia.
Supanova Pop Culture Expo, since 2000, is where the adoring public comes face to face with Supa-Star celebrities and the creative talent that inspire their imaginary worlds under one big roof. Gathered from comic books, animation/cartoons, science-fiction, pulp TV/movies, toys, console gaming, trading cards, fantasy, entertainment technology, books, internet sites and fan-clubs.
Swancon was founded in 1975 and is probably Australia’s longest-running science fiction convention. Held in Perth each year, please check the website for updated guests and current dates.
The International Ubud Writers & Readers Festival began as a healing and economic development project after the Bali bombings in 2002. Four days of stimulating and inspiring discussion, poetry readings, conversations, workshops, literary lunches, laughter and festivities in one of the world’s most magical settings. .